Rare wine gifts have the power to impress experienced and beginner wine enthusiasts alike. Most wine collectors appreciate the history and unique qualities of a rare bottle. Whether you’re looking for a rare wine as a gift for someone who’s impossible to shop for or you want to show the wine enthusiast in your life just how much you appreciate them, this guide will help you find the most gift-worthy bottles.
When the Vinfolio team visited Pomerol during en primeur week this past spring, we stopped at Château Lafleur to taste some of their incredible wines. During our tasting of the 2018 vintage, we had an enlightening discussion with a representative from the estate about what makes Pomerol special. Here, terroir is king. Château Lafleur and other Pomerol wine producers know just how unique the soil and climate are in this region, so they take a hands-off approach. The quality of the area’s terroir and the grapes it produces really do speak for themselves and this is a large part of what makes Pomerol so distinctive. In most other regions of Bordeaux, the winemaker’s signature style is very apparent in the wine; in Pomerol, most producers prefer not to interfere with the terroir’s natural characteristics at all.
My spouse and I love thoughtful, experience-based gifts. Rather than giving each other jewelry or watches for our anniversary, we always plan a special dinner and buy each other a fantastic bottle of wine. Giving wine as an anniversary gift is a perfect option for many couples because it’s something they can enjoy together. It’s also very personal; every couple is different, so every couple’s choice of wine will be unique to their relationship.
Whether you’re a seasoned Bordeaux collector or you want to start a collection from scratch, the 2018 vintage makes an excellent addition to a cellar. These wines are rich, concentrated, finessed, and elegant. While it’s still a very young vintage that has a long way to go, it’s already showing great promise. In this guide, we’ll offer you tips on which 2018 wines we think are worth collecting and provide you with some useful market projections that you can use to make investment decisions.
Master of Wine Jancis Robinson says, “Not much about wine makes me sad, but the average wine consumer’s attitude to sweet wines does. Good sweet wine is probably the most difficult and expensive wine in the world to make, yet so many people turn up their noses at the idea of sweetness in wine.” This is especially true for sweet red wines. While Sauternes is often praised by wine critics and collectors alike, sweet red wines aren’t given nearly as much attention. This guide will help you find the most incredible sweet red wines on the market today.
Last year, one of my goals was to expand my Australian wine collection. I already had a few bottles from Penfolds and Mollydooker, but I wanted to find more collectible Australian wine to add to my cellar. The problem was that I wasn’t sure exactly where to start. This country is known for producing some of the most delicious, distinctive wines in the world, but, like many collectors, I wasn’t as familiar with Australian producers as I was with French or Italian ones. To get more familiar with Australian wine regions, I spent some time sampling wine from well-known producers, including Clarendon Hills, Glaetzer, and Greenock Creek. The wines I tasted were so impressive that I ended up buying much more wine than I had initially planned. Today, my Australian wine collection is plentiful and diverse, and I had a lot of fun getting it to that point.
How do you show your employees, colleagues, or clients how much you appreciate them? Giving wine as a corporate gift is one of the best ways to thank them for their hard work. Fine wine is a classic gift that appeals to a wide variety of people and also looks polished and professional. Some beautiful bottles, like 2002 Piper-Heidsieck Millesimé Rare, look so impressive that you don’t even need to wrap them.
The internet has made it easier than ever to send your friends and loved ones wine as a gift. Nearly every bottle you could possibly imagine is available at your fingertips. Looking for a rare bottle of 1996 Château Latour? You can send this wine as a gift online without ever stepping foot outside your house. In the past, you would have had to visit or call multiple wine shops to see if they had it in stock. In fact, this bottle is so hard to find that you likely would have had to travel outside your state to get your hands on it.
Champagne is making a comeback. In 2011, Champagne held just one percent of the total market trade share. By 2018, this number had risen to eight percent. Why is Champagne gaining on the market? In part, the rise is due to a spate of excellent Champagne ratings and reviews from top wine critics. Recent releases like the 2008 Louis Roederer Cristal are receiving perfect scores from notable experts and this is driving up the value of Champagne as a category.
Wine Enthusiast’s Michael Schachner says, “To say the Priorat has boomed is an understatement.” The Priorat wine region has become very fashionable over the past few years–and for good reason. This area is home to some of the best wine producers in the world and the most popular bottles are gaining significantly in value on the secondary market. If you want to start your own Priorat wine collection, this guide will help you get started.
Putting together a bridal shower wine basket is a creative way to celebrate a friend’s or relative’s upcoming wedding. Customized baskets show the bride how much you care about her and will make her feel even more special on her big day. This guide will take you through the process of putting together a beautiful wine basket that fits the bride’s unique personality.
Buying wine by the case is a great way to stock up on wine for a party, lay down birth year wine, or see how a top-rated vintage evolves over time. However, buying wine by the case isn’t always a simple process. For starters, not all retailers sell wine by the case. Even if you find a retailer that sells full or half cases of wine, it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether you’re getting a good deal. This guide will walk you through the buying process to help you decide which cases are worth investing in and how to care for the cases you buy.